Music providing system for non-human animal

ABSTRACT

In order to achieve a music providing system capable of controlling the behavioral state of a non-human animal using music, this music providing system for a non-human animal is provided with: a state information acquisition unit for acquiring state information relating to the motion state of an animal of interest; a state estimation processing unit for estimating the current behavioral state of the animal of interest from the state information; a target state storage unit for storing information relating to a target behavioral state for the animal of interest; a sound source storage unit for storing multiple music information pieces; a music information selection unit for detecting the degree of divergence of the current behavioral state from the target behavioral state and selecting one specific music information piece on the basis of the multiple music information pieces stored in the sound source storage unit; and a music information output unit for outputting the specific music information by wireless communication or wired communication to a speaker provided within a region in which the animal of interest is present. The music information selection unit performs the processing for selecting a different specific music information piece until the degree of divergence becomes a first threshold value or less.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a music providing system for anon-human animal.

BACKGROUND ART

It is sometimes the case with a pet owner, particularly when out of thehouse, to wonder how the pet is behaving. A technique for remotelymonitoring a pet is known before, wherein a web camera and a microphoneare attached near the pet while an IC chip is attached to the pet (see,for example, Patent Document 1).

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

Patent Document 1: JP-A-2002-058378

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The main purpose of the technique described in Patent Document 1 is tocheck up on the current state of the pet that is in a remote location.Therefore, if the pet is barking restlessly and continuously, forexample, this technique hardly provides good enough service for the petowner, because the pet owner, while being worried all the time, can donothing but check the state of the pet.

Meanwhile, pet healing CDs for popular pets such as dogs and cats arecommercially available. Therefore, when the pet owner who has realizedthe state of the pet that is barking restlessly and continuously, forexample, by the technique of the Patent Document 1 mentioned above, itis possible for the pet owner to obtain an effect of calming down thepet to some extent by remotely playing one of the healing CDs mentionedabove.

While these healing CDs are generally supposed to have some effect, theeffect depends on individual pets. Namely, while some healing effect maybe observed for a pet a of a pet owner A, it may as well be that hardlyany healing effect is observed for a pet b of another pet owner B.

Various types of music are commercially available in the form of pethealing CDs. Therefore, pet owners need to purchase and test multiplepieces of music in order to ascertain which piece of music has theeffect of calming down the pet they keep. It is hardly realistic for apet owner to do this work from the viewpoints of time and cost.

Moreover, a method of remotely calming down not only pets, but alsolivestock such as cows, horses, pigs, and chickens, animals kept inzoos, or rescued mammals, similarly to pets, is desirable, since it isdifficult for animal keepers to stay near the animal stalls all thetime.

In view of the issue described above, it is an object of the presentinvention to realize a music providing system that allows for control ofthe behavioral state of non-human animals using music.

Means for Solving the Problems

The music providing system for a non-human animal according to thepresent invention includes:

a state information acquisition unit that acquires state informationrelating to a motion state of a target animal that is a non-humananimal,

a state estimation processing unit that estimates, from the stateinformation, a current behavioral state that is a behavioral state ofthe target animal at a current moment by arithmetic processing;

a target state storage unit that stores information relating to a targetbehavioral state that is a behavioral state aimed to be achieved of thetarget animal;

a sound source storage unit that stores a plurality of pieces of musicinformation;

a music information selecting unit that detects a degree of divergenceof the current behavioral state from the target behavioral state byarithmetic processing, and selects a piece of specific music informationbased on the plurality of pieces of music information stored in thesound source storage unit by arithmetic processing; and

a music information output unit that outputs the specific musicinformation to a speaker provided within a region where the targetanimal is present via wireless or wired communication,

wherein the music information selecting unit carries out a process ofselecting a different piece of the specific music information until thedegree of divergence becomes equal to or less than a predetermined firstthreshold.

The music providing system for a non-human animal is configured suchthat the music information selecting unit selects a piece of specificmusic information from the sound source storage unit in accordance witha degree of divergence of a current behavioral state estimated fromstate information relating to a motion state of a target animal from atarget behavioral state that is a behavioral state aimed to be achieved.This selected specific music information is output from the speaker andinput to the ears of the target animal as an auditory signal.

Possible target animals include pets, livestock, animals kept in zoos,rescued animals and the like. Mammals and birds are conceivable as theseanimals. More specifically, dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, cows, pigs,chickens, horses and the like are conceivable. Preferably the animal isa dog.

When the specific music information is a piece of music that has somepsychological effect on the target animal, the target animal changes itsbehavioral pattern when it begins to hear this music. In some cases, forexample, the target animal that has been moving about extremelyrestlessly, or barking continuously, may somewhat relax, or startbarking less frequently. In other cases, the target animal that has beennapping may suddenly start moving actively, or start barking vigorouslywhen the animal starts to hear this music. Moreover, there may be atarget animal that hardly changes its behavioral pattern before andafter the music is played.

The music providing system for a non-human animal not simply plays musicremotely from a speaker, but estimates the behavioral state of thetarget animal by arithmetic processing and detects a degree ofdivergence from a target behavioral state even after the music has beenplayed. The music information selecting unit carries out the process ofselecting specific music information from a plurality of pieces of musicinformation stored in the sound source storage unit until this degree ofdivergence becomes equal to or less than a predetermined firstthreshold.

Namely, if the behavioral state of a target animal “a” (currentbehavioral state) is far from a target behavioral state even after apiece of music M1 has been played to this target animal “a”, the musicinformation selecting unit selects another piece of music M2 and outputsthe same from the speaker. The behavioral state of the target animal “a”(current behavioral state) is then checked again. This process isrepeated until the behavioral state of the target animal “a” becomescloser to the target behavioral state, more particularly, until thedegree of divergence becomes equal to or less than the predeterminedfirst threshold.

Consequently, the music output from the speaker keeps changingautomatically until a piece of music that has (had) some influence onthe behavioral pattern of the target animal is found. Namely, an optimalpiece of music is automatically selected in consideration of thespecific nature (individual difference) of the target animal.

The music providing system for a non-human animal provides a significanteffect even when the target animal is alone. Namely, suppose it has beenconfirmed before that a piece of music M2 showed an effect of calmingdown a target animal “a”. This does not guarantee that the same effectwill be realized when the same music M2 is played on another day. Thisis because, depending on the target animal, after having heard the samemusic a number of times, it is expected that the influence of the musicbeing played on the behavioral pattern may diminish. This is an issuethat can arise when the pet owner tries to calm down the target animal“a” remotely using a healing CD in which the music M2 is recorded.

On the other hand, assuming that the music M2 has been selected beforeand showed an effect of influencing the behavioral pattern, but when thesame music M2, selected on another day, hardly influenced the behavioralpattern, according to the music providing system for a non-human animal,the music information selecting unit recognizes the degree of divergenceof the current behavioral state from the target behavioral state beinglarge, and changes the selected music (to music M3, for example).Consequently, the issue of the diminishing influence of the same musicbeing played over and over again on the behavioral pattern of the sametarget animal will hardly arise.

The music providing system for a non-human animal is effective also whenthere are a plurality of target animals. For example, where there is aplurality of the target animals, the music information selecting unitmay carry out a process of selecting a different piece of the specificmusic information until the degree of divergence regarding all of thetarget animals becomes equal to or less than the first threshold, or,until a total sum of the degrees of divergence of discrete ones of thetarget animals becomes equal to or less than a predetermined secondthreshold.

With this configuration, when there are a plurality of target animals, apiece of music that effectively influences the behavioral pattern of amajority of (e.g., over a half of) the target animals is selectedautomatically.

The music information selecting unit may simply extract a piece of themusic information from a plurality of pieces of the music informationstored in the sound source storage unit to select the specific musicinformation, or, may perform a predetermined process after extractingthe piece of the music information from the plurality of pieces of themusic information stored in the sound source storage unit to select thespecific music information. The “predetermined process” herein includesa process of changing elements such as tempo, frequency, tone color andthe like (corresponding to the “feature parameters” to be describedlater). Note, such “predetermined process”, if any, to be performed tothe extracted music information to select the specific music informationshall be made within the scope of laws so that no copyright issues willarise.

In the music providing system for a non-human animal,

the plurality of pieces of music information are stored in the soundsource storage unit in association with coordinate information ofcoordinates in a feature space with feature parameter axes, and

when a degree of divergence of the current behavioral state of thetarget animal from the target behavioral state is detected for a firsttime, the music information selecting unit selects default musicinformation corresponding to the coordinate information, with each ofthe preset feature parameters indicating a default value, in accordancewith the target behavioral state as the specific music information.

According to the configuration described above, each of the plurality ofpieces of music information stored in the sound source storage unit isclassified for each of different feature parameters. Examples of the“feature parameters” referred to herein are elements such as tempo,frequency band, tone color, sound pressure, melody, harmony, rhythm, andso on and may include at least one of these elements.

Suppose, for example, the music information selecting unit has changedthe music M2 that was being played immediately before to another musicM3 based on the divergence of the current behavioral state of the targetanimal “a” from the target behavioral state. After that, the musicinformation selecting unit recognizes the current behavioral state ofthe target animal “a” and checks the degree of divergence from thetarget behavioral state. In cases where the degree of divergence hasdecreased, i.e., the change of the music from M2 to M3 apparently hashad some effect, the music information selecting unit recognizes, basedon the relative positions of the coordinates in each feature space themusic M2 belongs to and the coordinates in each feature space the musicM3 belongs to, which feature parameters have acted effectively. Forexample, if it is found that the effect resulted from a change of tempoand frequency band in a predetermined direction, the music informationselecting unit selects a piece of music M4 that is sorted to acoordinate position in the feature space in which tempo and frequencyband have been changed in the predetermined direction from those of themusic M3. This way, the processing time required for getting thebehavioral state of the target animal to change to the target behavioralstate can be shortened even more.

In the music providing system for a non-human animal,

the state information may include information relating to accelerationin a plurality of directions of the target animal, and

the state estimation processing unit may carry out a predeterminedprocess including a process of integrating values based on theacceleration of the target animal over a predetermined period of time tocalculate an index, and estimate the current behavioral state based on aratio of the index to a specific index corresponding to a predeterminedbehavioral state.

The state information may include biological information of the targetanimal in addition to the information relating to the acceleration. Thebiological information may include electrocardiogram information,respiratory information, brain wave information, and so on. In caseswhere the state information includes the biological information, thestate information acquisition unit may be a sensor that acquires thebiological information, and this sensor may be installed on the targetanimal.

The music providing system for a non-human animal may be configured toinclude a server. More particularly,

the music providing system for a non-human animal may be configured tofurther include

a server that includes the state estimation processing unit, the targetstate storage unit, the sound source storage unit, the music informationselecting unit, and the music information output unit, and

the speaker provided within a region where the target animal is present,and

when the server acquires the state information via wirelesscommunication from the state information acquisition unit, which isconfigured to include a sensor provided in contact with the targetanimal, or configured to be capable of taking a picture of the targetanimal from a position away from the target animal,

the server may output the state information to the state estimationprocessing unit, and

when the music information selecting unit selects the specific musicinformation, the server may output the specific music information to thespeaker via wireless communication.

An acceleration sensor, for example, may be used as the sensor providedin contact with the target animal herein referred to. In this case, thesensor may be installed in direct contact with the target animal, or maybe installed in an accessory attached to the target animal when in usesuch as collar or harness.

In the configuration described above,

the server may include a setting information receiving unit, and

when information relating to the target behavioral state is input viawireless communication from an operation terminal of a caretaker of thetarget animal, the setting information receiving unit may output theinput information relating to the target behavioral state to the targetstate storage unit.

The configuration described above allows a caretaker (e.g., pet owner,or livestock keeper) to get the target animal to assume a desirablebehavioral state (target behavioral state) automatically only byinputting the target behavioral state of the target animal from theoperation terminal.

In the configuration described above,

the server may include a behavioral state output unit that outputsinformation relating to the current behavioral state of the targetanimal to the operation terminal via wireless communication.

The configuration described above allows the caretaker to remotely knowthe behavioral state of the target animal at the current moment and thusallows the caretaker to check whether the system is operating correctly.It is also possible for the caretaker to give an instruction to stop theoperation of this system at the time point when it is confirmed that thebehavioral state of the target animal has reached the target behavioralstate. Namely, the configuration described above can provide thecriteria for determining whether or not this system is to be stopped.

In the configuration described above,

the music information output unit may output at least one of thespecific music information itself selected by the music informationselecting unit and identification information for identifying thespecific music information to the operation terminal via wirelesscommunication.

In cases where the specific music information itself is output to theoperation terminal, the caretaker can listen in real time to the verymusic being played to the target animal at the current moment. In caseswhere identification information for identifying the specific musicinformation is output to the operation terminal, the caretaker canrecognize in real time the information relating to the music beingplayed to the target animal at the current moment. The caretaker is ableto know what music is being played to the target animal from a remotelocation and can feel reassured in using this system.

The identification information may be, for example, the title, composer,arranger, singer and the like of the specific music information.

Effect of the Invention

The music providing system for a non-human animal of the presentinvention enables automated remote control of the behavioral state ofnon-human animals such as pets, livestock and the like using music.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of afirst embodiment of a music providing system for a non-human animal ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a drawing for describing the content of processing performedby a state estimation processing unit.

FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart that illustrates a schematic overallprocess flow of the music providing system for a non-human animal of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is another schematic block diagram illustrating a configurationof the first embodiment of the music providing system for a non-humananimal of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing for describing coordinate information of apiece of music.

FIG. 6 is another schematic block diagram illustrating a configurationof the first embodiment of the music providing system for a non-humananimal of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of asecond embodiment of the music providing system for a non-human animalof the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration ofanother embodiment of the music providing system for a non-human animalof the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration ofanother embodiment of the music providing system for a non-human animalof the present invention.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First Embodiment

A first embodiment of a music providing system for a non-human animalaccording to the present invention will be described with reference tothe drawings. This music providing system is used for the purpose ofcontrolling the behavioral state of non-human animals such as pets,livestock, animals kept in zoos, rescued animals and the like, usingmusic in an automated manner. The system is particularly applicable forthe purpose of controlling the behavioral state of such non-humananimals when the caretaker (for example, the owner of the pet, livestockkeeper, workers in pet shops or pet hotels, breeders, etc.) is away fromthe location where the non-human animals are present.

Hereinafter, the “music providing system for a non-human animal” willsometimes be shortened to “music providing system” where appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of thefirst embodiment of the music providing system of the present invention.The music providing system 1 includes a server 10, a region of presence20 of a target animal 2, and a communication line 30. In thisembodiment, one example in which the target animal 2 is a dog will bedescribed.

<Region of Presence 20>

The region of presence 20 of the target animal 2 is, in the case of thetarget animal 2 being an indoor dog, for example, a region where thisindoor dog can move about. A speaker 5 is installed within this regionof presence 20. This speaker 5 converts specific music information dmtransmitted from the server 10 into sound energy and outputs an acousticsignal wm as will be described later. This speaker 5 may be installedanywhere as long as the acoustic signal wm output by the speaker 5 canbe auditorily perceivable by the target animal 2.

FIG. 1 illustrates a case where the speaker 5 is built in acommunication device 60 equipped with a transmitting/receiving unit 61.More particularly, FIG. 1 illustrates a case where the communicationdevice 60 is a computer, and the speaker 5 is connected to thiscomputer. The speaker 5 itself may be equipped with a communicationfunction (transmitting/receiving unit 61), in which case thecommunication device 60 adopts a configuration wherein thetransmitting/receiving unit 61 and the speaker 5 are united.

To the target animal 2 is attached a state information acquisition unit3 that acquires state information relating to the motion state of thistarget animal 2. In this embodiment, the state information acquisitionunit 3 is configured by an acceleration sensor. For example, the stateinformation acquisition unit 3 is configured by a sensor capable ofdetecting acceleration of the motion in the directions of three axes,front-to-back, left and right, and up and down directions of the targetanimal 2 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “X direction”, “Ydirection”, and “Z direction”, respectively). Additionally, the stateinformation acquisition unit 3 may include an angular velocity sensorfor rotational directions around the front-to-back axis, up and downaxis, and left and right axis.

To attach the sensor such as an acceleration sensor to the target animal2, the sensor may be directly installed on the skin of the target animal2, or, installed in an accessory (such as collar or harness) attached tothe target animal 2. Namely, the sensor may be attached in any manner aslong as the motion state of the target animal 2 is detectable.

The state information acquisition unit 3 is configured to be capable ofcommunication. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, when the stateinformation acquisition unit 3 acquires state information d1 relating tothe motion state of this target animal 2, the unit 3 transmits thisstate information d1 to the communication device 60. The communicationdevice 60 transmits this information to the server 10 via thecommunication line 30. In FIG. 1, the flow of the state information d1is indicated as one-dot chain line. The communication schemes used forthe communication between the state information acquisition unit 3 andthe communication device 60 and between the communication device 60 andthe server 10 (communication scheme adopted by the communication line30) may be of any type. For example, Internet, Wi-Fi (registeredtrademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark) and the like may be used.

As will be described later with reference to FIG. 8, the stateinformation acquisition unit 3 may alternatively adopt a configurationwherein the unit transmits the state information d1 directly to theserver 10 without using the communication device 60. Hereinafter, theexpression “the state information acquisition unit 3 transmits stateinformation d1 to the server 10” shall include both cases where thestate information acquisition unit 3 transmits state information d1directly to the server 10 and where the state information acquisitionunit 3 transmits the state information d1 to the server 10 via thecommunication device 60.

<Server 10>

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the server 10 includes a state estimationprocessing unit 11, a target state storage unit 12, a sound sourcestorage unit 13, a music information selecting unit 14, a musicinformation output unit 15, and a transmitting/receiving unit 19. Thetransmitting/receiving unit 19 is an interface for convertinginformation into a predetermined transmittable/receivable mode fortransmission and reception of the information between the server 10 andan external device via the communication line 30. The state estimationprocessing unit 11, music information selecting unit 14, and musicinformation output unit 15 are arithmetic processing units that performpredetermined signal processing (arithmetic processing) based onacquired information, and configured by dedicated software and/orhardware. The target state storage unit 12 and sound source storage unit13 are areas where predetermined information is stored, and configuredby a storage medium such as a flash memory or a hard disk.

(State Estimation Processing Unit 11)

The state estimation processing unit 11 is processing means thatestimates the behavioral state of the target animal 2 at the currentmoment (hereinafter referred to as “current behavioral state”) byarithmetic processing based on the state information d1 relating to themotion state of the target animal 2 transmitted from the stateinformation acquisition unit 3. A specific example of processing wherethe state information d1 is information relating to acceleration in thethree-axis directions will be described.

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of the change in the information ofacceleration in the Y direction of the target animal 2 as one example ofstate information d1 transmitted from the state information acquisitionunit 3. The values of acceleration in the X direction and Z directionundergo temporal changes similarly to those of the Y direction of FIG.2.

The state estimation processing unit 11 cuts out segments of apredetermined period of time t1 each from the values of acceleration(ax, ay, az) regarding the X, Y, and Z direction that is the stateinformation d1. This period of time t1 is 30 seconds, for example. FIG.2 illustrates an example in which, when segments of a period of time t1each are cut out, each segment is cut out such as to have a partoverlapping, for a period of time t2, in the window of the segment cutout immediately before. This period of time t2 is 20 seconds, forexample. The period of time t1 of cut-out segments and the period oftime t2 of overlapping parts are merely examples.

The state estimation processing unit 11 extracts maximum and minimumvalues from the respective values of acceleration (ax, ay, az) withinthe period of time t1 of the cut-out segments for the process ofestimating the intensity of movement of the target animal 2. Further,the state estimation processing unit integrates the respective values ofacceleration (ax, ay, az) within the period of time t1 of the cut-outsegments, and counts the numbers of local maxima and minima for theprocess of estimating the amount of activity in the movement of thetarget animal 2.

Further, the state estimation processing unit 11 performs an FFT (FastFourier Transform) process to the respective values of acceleration (ax,ay, az) to extract frequency characteristics regarding the movement ofthe target animal 2. When the target animal 2 is performing a repetitiveaction such as walking or running, the acceleration contains acharacteristic frequency component, so that a behavioral pattern can beidentified based on this frequency characteristic.

In performing each of the processes described above, the stateestimation processing unit 11 may perform a cut-off process to therespective values of acceleration (ax, ay, az) that have been obtained,based on a judgment that values whose absolute values exceed apredetermined threshold derive from a noise signal. Moreover, for thesimilar purpose, the state estimation processing unit may perform eachof the processes described above after passing the respective signals ofacceleration (ax, ay, az) that have been obtained through apredetermined band pass filter.

In an alternative mode, if the respective accelerations (ax, ay, az)that have been obtained are data without base line correction, the stateestimation processing unit 11 may compute the gravitational accelerationby decomposing each value of acceleration (ax, ay, az) into thegravitational component and other components, and estimate theinclination of the target animal 2 based on this computation results.From this estimation result, for example, the behavior of the targetanimal 2, such as whether it is about to crouch, lie down, or trying toget up, is estimated.

The state estimation processing unit 11 performs the processesillustrated above to estimate the behavioral state of the target animal2 within the period of time t1 of the cut-out segment, and quantifiesthe estimation results based on predetermined rules.

The state estimation processing unit 11 repeats the processes describedabove over a period of time t3 (of, e.g., 5 minutes) to obtain numbersequences that represent the quantified behavioral state of the targetanimal 2 within the period of time t3. An averaging process is performedto these number sequences, for example, so that the behavioral state ofthe target animal in the period of time t3 immediately before isrepresented as a number.

The state estimation processing unit 11 stores index valuescorresponding to specific behavioral states beforehand, such as an indexvalue i0 representing the target animal 2 lying down completely andsleeping, and index value i1 representing the animal jumping on end. Thestate estimation processing unit 11 calculates the ratio of the storedindex value corresponding to a specific behavioral state to the indexvalue obtained by the arithmetic processing described above to estimatethe behavioral state of the target animal 2 in the period of time t3immediately before (current behavioral state). The “behavioral state”referred to herein may be evaluated by a calmness index, for example,which indicates how calm the target animal 2 is.

In the example described above, the process of estimating the behavioralstate of the target animal 2 based on the respective obtained values ofacceleration (ax, ay, az) for the period of time t1 each is repeatedover the period of time t3. Instead, the behavioral state of the targetanimal 2 may be estimated by performing arithmetic processingcollectively to the respective values of acceleration (ax, ay, az)obtained in the entire period of time t3.

FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart that illustrates a schematic overallprocess flow of the music providing system 1. The process performed bythe state estimation processing unit 11 corresponds to step S1.

(Target State Storage Unit 12)

The target state storage unit 12 is storage means that stores behavioralstates aimed to be achieved of the target animal 2 (hereinafter referredto as “target behavioral state”). The target behavioral state is thecontents such as the target animal 2 being desired to be very calm, orthe target animal 2 being desired to be excited, i.e., the behavioralstate of the target animal 2 the pet owner (caretaker) of the targetanimal 2 desires. This target behavioral state may be set discretely bythe caretaker, for example, or may be set automatically. In the lattercase, the target behavioral state may be set to the content that is formaking the target animal 2 very calm, for example.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the operation terminal 40 the caretakerowns is communicable with the server 10 via the communication line 30,the caretaker inputs information relating to the target behavioral stateof the target animal 2 from an information input unit 41 of theoperation terminal 40, and this information, by being transmitted by thetransmitting/receiving unit 42 to the server 10, can be stored in thetarget state storage unit 12 of the server 10. Here, general-purposecommunication equipment such as smartphones or tablet PCs may be used asthe operation terminal 40. In this case, this general-purposecommunication equipment may be configured to allow the informationrelated to the target behavioral state to be input via a dedicatedapplication installed therein.

A calmness index aimed to be achieved of the target animal 2, forexample, may be adopted as the target behavioral state. A moreparticular example would be a 10-scale index, wherein the completelyasleep state is Calmness 10, while the excited, constantly barking stateis Calmness 1. In the case of the caretaker inputting from the operationterminal 40, for example, the application shows the behavioral state ofthe dog in multiple levels on the screen, and allows the caretaker toselect a desired behavioral state, whereupon the calmness indexcorresponding to the behavioral state is output to the server 10 and canbe stored in the target state storage unit 12.

(Sound Source Storage Unit 13, Music Information Selecting Unit 14)

The sound source storage unit 13 is storage means that stores aplurality of pieces of music information. The music informationselecting unit 14 is processing means that compares the targetbehavioral state stored in the target state storage unit 12 describedabove and the current behavioral state of the target animal 2 estimatedin the process of step S1 described above by the state estimationprocessing unit 11, and selects a piece of specific music information dmby arithmetic processing. The process performed by the music informationselecting unit 14 corresponds to step S2 to step S4.

For example, in cases where both the target behavioral state and thecurrent behavioral state are quantified based on the same index“calmness”, the music information selecting unit 14 calculates thedifference between both values to determine how far the behavioral stateof the target animal at the current moment is from the target behavioralstate. The index is not limited to the degree of calmness given above.The states may be quantified otherwise as long as the same index is usedso that both states are comparable.

The music information selecting unit 14 detects the difference notedabove as a “degree of divergence” (step S2), and compares this degree ofdivergence with a predetermined threshold (first threshold) (step S3).If the degree of divergence is not equal to or less than this threshold(No in step S3), the music information selecting unit 14 selects a pieceof specific music information dm based on a plurality of pieces of musicinformation stored in the sound source storage unit 13 by the method tobe described later.

At this point, the specific music information dm is not selected yet.Therefore, the description in the following presupposes that the targetanimal 2 is showing a behavior that is largely deviated from the targetbehavioral state, i.e., that the degree of divergence exceeds the firstthreshold.

In this embodiment, the sound source storage unit 13 stores a pluralityof pieces of music information associated with coordinate information ofcoordinates in the feature space with different feature parameter axes.FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing for describing coordinate information of apiece of music.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the music information isclassified based on coordinates formed by evaluation values of seventypes of feature parameters (tempo YA, frequency band YB, tone color YC,melody YD, harmony YE, rhythm YF, and sound pressure YG). Namely, inthis example, the music information is each classified based on acoordinate position in the coordinate space of seven dimensions.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the music information specified bymusic No. 0000001 has a value al on the tempo YA axis, a value b1 on thefrequency band YB axis, a value c1 on the tone color YC axis, a value d1on the melody YD axis, a value e1 on the harmony YE axis, a value f1 onthe rhythm YF axis, and a value g1 on the sound pressure YG axis.

Here, the tempo YA axis corresponds to the speed of this musicinformation. For the value on the YA axis, for example, the bpm valueitself of this music information, or a value relative to a referencebpm, may be adopted.

The frequency band YB axis corresponds to the range between the minimumand maximum frequency values of this music information. For the value onthe frequency band YB axis, for example, an intermediate value or a meanvalue of the minimum and maximum frequency values of this musicinformation may be adopted.

The tone color YC axis corresponds to the distribution of frequenciesand the varying state of frequencies of this music information. For thevalue on the tone color YC axis, for example, the frequency ofappearance (duration of appearance) of each frequency is extracted, anda number of types of frequencies whose frequency of appearance exceeds ½of the maximum frequency of appearance may be adopted.

The melody YD axis corresponds to the shape of a linear contour formedby connecting the sound pitches (sound heights). The value on the YDaxis may be a value corresponding to a type of the shape that is theclosest of a plurality of shapes classified beforehand.

The harmony YE axis corresponds to the continuity of verticalarrangement of notes. The value on the YE axis may be, for example, avalue obtained by integrating the number of types of frequenciesincluded in the sound information of different frequencies andoverlapping at the same timing over a play time.

The rhythm YF axis corresponds to a series of sound durations. The valueon the YF axis may be, for example, the periodicity of a spectrum.

The sound pressure YG axis corresponds to the volume of this musicinformation. For the value on the YG axis, for example, the dB (decibel)value itself of this music information, or a value relative to areference dB, may be adopted.

A plurality of pieces of music information are quantified for each ofthe seven feature parameters described above, and stored in the soundsource storage unit 13 together with coordinate positions in the featurespace.

The music information selecting unit 14 detects a degree of divergenceof the target behavioral state stored in the target state storage unit12 from the current behavioral state of the target animal 2, and selectsa piece of specific music information dm from the plurality of pieces ofmusic information stored in the sound source storage unit 13 based onthe degree of divergence. In cases where the specific music informationdm is to be selected first, the music information selecting unit 14 mayselect predefined music information (default music information)determined based on the content of the target behavioral state as thespecific music information dm.

Namely, the music information selecting unit 14 holds therein previouslystored default music information (more particularly, information thatidentifies this default music information) to be selected as defaultmusic in accordance with the type of the target behavioral state, sothat default music information corresponding to the identificationinformation can be read out from the sound source storage unit 13 andselected as the specific music information dm.

For example, in cases where the music that supposedly has some effect ofcalming down dogs generally (e.g., a music piece in commerciallyavailable healing CDs for dogs) is already known, such music may be setas the default music information.

(Music Information Output Unit 15, Transmitting/Receiving Unit 19)

The music information output unit 15 is processing means that reads outthe specific music information dm selected by the music informationselecting unit 14 in a playable format from the sound source storageunit 13 and outputs the same. The transmitting/receiving unit 19converts the specific music information dm output from the musicinformation output unit 15 into a mode transmittable via thecommunication line 30 and outputs the same to the speaker 5. Thisprocess corresponds to step S5.

The speaker 5 converts the specific music information din input from theserver 10 into an acoustic signal wm and outputs the same. This acousticsignal win is auditorily perceived by the target animal 2.

<Feedback Loop>

When the target animal 2 recognizes the acoustic signal win originatingfrom the specific music information dm, and when this music is one thathas some psychological effect on the target animal 2, the target animalchanges its behavioral pattern. On the other hand, if the music is onethat has no special psychological effect, the target animal 2 isexpected to hardly change its behavioral pattern.

The state information acquisition unit 3 keeps acquiring stateinformation d1 relating to the motion state of the target animal 2described in the foregoing with reference to FIG. 2 and transmits theinformation to the server 10 all the time during the output of thespecific music information dm, i.e., during the time in which the targetanimal 2 is made to hear the acoustic signal wm output from the speaker5. The state estimation processing unit 11 estimates the currentbehavioral state based on this state information d1 and outputs theresults to the music information selecting unit 14 (step S1).

The music information selecting unit 14 calculates a degree ofdivergence of the current behavioral state output from the stateestimation processing unit 11 from the target behavioral state stored inthe target state storage unit 12 by the method described above (stepS2), and compares the degree of divergence with the threshold (firstthreshold) (step S3). The degree of divergence being equal to or lessthan the first threshold (Yes in step S3) at this point corresponds tothe behavioral state aimed to be achieved being substantially achievedas a result of the target animal 2 having been made to hear the acousticsignal wm based on the specific music information dm via the speaker 5(step S5) and changed its behavioral state. Therefore, in this case, themusic information selecting unit 14 carries out a process of maintainingthe specific music information dm that has been selected immediatelybefore (step S6). If, for example, the degree of divergence stays equalto or less than the first threshold over a predetermined period of time,then the music information selecting unit 14 may stop the selection ofthe specific music information dm. In this case, the state in which thespeaker 5 keeps outputting the acoustic signal wm is stopped.

On the other hand, if the degree of divergence still exceeds the firstthreshold (No in step S3), it means that the behavioral state aimed tobe achieved has not been achieved despite the target animal 2 havingbeen made to hear the acoustic signal wm based on the specific musicinformation dm. In this case, the music information selecting unit 14carries out a process of changing the specific music information dm fromthe one that has been selected immediately before (step S4).

As a method of changing the specific music information dm, for example,a method of selecting specific music information dm2 having a largelydifferent value of only one of the plurality of feature parametersdescribed above in comparison to the specific music information dm1selected immediately before may be adopted.

Alternatively, for example, a method of selecting specific musicinformation dm3 having values of the plurality of feature parameterseach different from that of the specific music information dm1 selectedimmediately before may be adopted.

The former method may be applied, for example, for evaluating theinfluence on the behavioral pattern of the target animal 2 of specificmusic information dm2 that is close to the specific music informationdm1 in terms of the class and contents of music when some effect ofbringing the behavioral state of the target animal 2 closer to thetarget behavioral state has been observed by selecting the specificmusic information dm1 immediately before while the effect was notsufficient. The latter method may be applied, for example, forevaluating the influence on the behavioral pattern of the target animal2 of specific music information dm3 that is far from the specific musicinformation dm1 in terms of the class and contents of music when hardlyany effect of bringing the behavioral state of the target animal 2closer to the target behavioral state has been observed by selecting thespecific music information dm1 immediately before.

When the specific music information dm selected by the music informationselecting unit 14 is changed, the specific music information dm afterthe change is output to the speaker 5 via the communication line 30 bythe similar method as described above. Thus an acoustic signal wmdifferent from the one immediately before is output from the speaker 5and heard by the target animal 2.

From then onwards, steps S1 to S5 are repeated by the similar methoduntil the degree of divergences becomes equal to or less than the firstthreshold. Namely, the music providing system 1 automatically changesthe acoustic signals wm output from the speaker 5 until the targetanimal 2 shows a behavioral state aimed to be achieved. This allows forautomatic control of the behavioral pattern of the target animal 2 inconsideration of the individual characteristics of the target animal 2.

The server 10 may include a behavioral state output unit 16 that outputsinformation regarding the current behavioral state of the target animal2 as illustrated in FIG. 6. Based on the estimation results provided bythe state estimation processing unit 11, this behavioral state outputunit 16 changes the current behavioral state of the target animal 2corresponding to the estimation results into a format the caretaker isable to recognize, for example, and outputs the same. This informationis transmitted to the operation terminal 40 via the communication line30. The caretaker can visually recognize the current state of the targetanimal 2 by checking the display part (not shown) of the operationterminal 40.

The server 10 may transmit the information relating to the selectedspecific music information dm to the operation terminal 40 via thecommunication line 30 during the time when the music informationselecting unit 14 is selecting the specific music information dm. Forexample, the music information output unit 15 may read out the specificmusic information dm from the sound source storage unit 13 in a playableformat and transmit the same to the speaker 5 and at the same time tothe operation terminal 40, too. In this case, the caretaker can hear thesame music from the operation terminal 40 simultaneously with the targetanimal 2. Alternatively, the music information output unit 15 maytransmit only the information about the specific music information dmsuch as the title and composer (identification information) to theoperation terminal 40 via the communication line 30. In this case, thecaretaker can recognize which music the target animal 2 is hearing atthe moment by letters or image information through the operationterminal 40.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of asecond embodiment of the music providing system of the presentinvention. Below, only differences from the first embodiment will bedescribed.

The music providing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 does not include theserver 10, as compared to the music providing system 1 of the firstembodiment. The functional means of the server 10 of the music providingsystem 1 of the first embodiment (state estimation processing unit 11,target state storage unit 12, sound source storage unit 13, musicinformation selecting unit 14, and music information output unit 15) areeach built in the speaker 5. The acoustic signal output unit 51illustrated in FIG. 7 is functional means of outputting an acousticsignal which the speaker 5 inherently includes.

In this case, the state information d1 relating to the motion state ofthe target animal 2 obtained from the state information acquisition unit3 is output to the speaker 5, and the speaker 5 carries out the variousprocessing steps S1 to S6 described above.

While labelled as “speaker 5” for convenience in FIG. 7, this speaker 5includes an acoustic system connected to the speaker 5 by a wiredconnection, or integrated with the speaker 5.

Other Embodiments

Other embodiments of the music providing system according to the presentinvention will be described below.

<1> While one case where the target animal 2 is a dog has been describedin the embodiments above, the target animal 2 the music providing system1 is intended for is not limited to dogs and may be other pet animalsthan dogs such as cats, rabbits, birds, etc., or livestock such as cows,horses, pigs, chickens, animals kept in zoos, or rescued animals.

<2> In the embodiments described above, one example is given where themusic information stored in the sound source storage unit 13 isclassified based on seven types of feature parameters. The number oftypes of feature parameters need not be seven. For example, there may beprovided one type, or two types of feature parameters. The same goeswith the classification method, i.e., each music information may beclassified based on any musical elements including but not limited tothe elements described above (tempo, frequency band, tone color, melody,harmony, rhythm, and sound pressure).

<3> In the embodiments described above, the music information selectingunit 14 simply extracts a piece of music information from a plurality ofpieces of music information stored in the sound source storage unit 13to select the specific music information dm in step S4. The method ofselecting the specific music information dm is not limited to this.Namely, the specific music information dm may be the informationobtained by the music information selecting unit 14 carrying out aprocess of changing the tempo, frequency, tone color and the like afterextracting a piece of music information from the plurality of pieces ofmusic information stored in the sound source storage unit 13. Forexample, in cases where the behavioral pattern of the target animal 2became significantly closer to the target behavioral state by thespecific music information din selected in step S4 immediately before,musical elements thereof may slightly be altered.

<4> The state information acquisition unit 3 described in theembodiments above acquires state information relating to the motionstate (e.g., acceleration information) of the target animal 2. Inaddition to the motion state, information relating to a physiologicalstate may be acquired. For example, the state information acquisitionunit 3 may include a sensor that acquires information of at least one ofpulses, brain waves, and an electrocardiogram of the target animal 2.

In this case, the state estimation processing unit 11 estimates thecurrent behavioral state of the target animal 2 based on the stateinformation d1 including information relating to a physiological statein addition to the motion state of the target animal 2 described above.

<5> In the embodiments described above, one example is given in whichthere is one target animal 2. The music providing system 1 can beapplied to cases where a plurality of target animals 2 are present.While the following description presupposes that a common targetbehavioral state is set for all the target animals 2, similar arithmeticprocessing is possible even when different target behavioral states arediscretely set for the target animals 2.

In this case, state information acquisition units 3 are set for discretetarget animals 2 (2 a, 2 b, . . . ), and state information d1 (d1 a, d1b, . . . ) acquired from each target animal 2 is output to the stateestimation processing unit 11. The state estimation processing unit 11estimates the current behavioral state of each target animal 2 (2 a, 2b, . . . ) based on each state information d1.

The music information selecting unit 14 compares the target behavioralstate stored in the target state storage unit 12 and the currentbehavioral state of each target animal 2 (2 a, 2 b, . . . ) estimated bythe state estimation processing unit 11 and detects a degree ofdivergence. For example, the music information selecting unit 14 carriesout a process of selecting (changing) the specific music information dinfor all the target animals 2 (2 a, 2 b, . . . ) if the degree ofdivergence a (aa, ab, . . . ) is not equal to or less than the firstthreshold. Alternatively, the music information selecting unit 14carries out a process of selecting (changing) the specific musicinformation dm if a total value of the degrees of divergence a (aa, ab,. . . ) regarding all the target animals 2 (2 a, 2 b, . . . ) is notequal to or less than a predetermined threshold (second threshold).

From then on, steps S1 to S5 are executed repeatedly similarly asdescribed above. This way, a plurality of target animals 2 can bebrought closer to a target behavioral state automatically.

<6> As illustrated in FIG. 8, the state information acquisition unit 3may be configured to be capable of communicating directly with theserver 10 via the communication line 30. In this case, the stateinformation acquisition unit 3 transmits the state information d1directly to the server 10 without using the communication device 60.

<7> In the present invention, the music information stored in the soundsource storage unit 13 may contain any sound information and is notlimited to specific genres in the musical sense. For example, singletone sounds, natural sounds such as those of waves and winds, generalliving noises such as footsteps of the pet owner or clicking sounds ofswitches, or voices of humans including the pet owner among others, orof other animals, could also be used.

<8> In the embodiments described above, the state informationacquisition unit 3 that is an acceleration sensor for example isattached to the target animal 2 so that the state information relatingto the motion state of the target animal 2 is acquired. Instead, thestate information acquisition unit 3 may be installed in a position awayfrom the target animal 2, when acquiring the state information relatingto the motion state of the target animal 2. FIG. 9 is a schematicillustration similar to FIG. 1 of an example in which the stateinformation acquisition unit 3 is configured by a camera capable oftaking pictures of inside of the region of presence 20 of the targetanimal 2.

In the music providing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 9, the stateinformation acquisition unit 3 that is a camera transmits motion pictureinformation of the target animal 2 to the server 10 directly or via thecommunication device 60 as the state information d1 relating to themotion state of the target animal 2. The state estimation processingunit 11 provided in the server 10 calculates the speed or accelerationin each direction of the target animal 2 by time-sharing analysis over apredetermined time of the state information d1 that is the motionpicture information, and estimates the behavioral state of the targetanimal 2 by a method similar to that of the first embodiment describedabove, for example.

Another approach the state estimation processing unit 11 provided in theserver 10 may adopt is to perform image analysis over a predeterminedtime of the state information d1 that is the motion picture information,to determine whether or not the target animal 2 is maintained in aspecific state continuously over a specific period of time. Morespecifically, the state estimation processing unit 11 analyzesinformation such as whether or not the (face or body of the) targetanimal 2 is continuously at a distance of not more than a predeterminedthreshold from the ground of the region of presence 20, or whether thepart of the target animal 2 being imaged by the state informationacquisition unit 3 that is a camera is the belly side or the back side,and so on. Namely, the state estimation processing unit 11 provided inthe server 10 may extract a duration of time that the target animal 2has kept its state (posture) from the state info nation d1 that ismotion picture information and estimate the behavioral state of thetarget animal 2. In this case, the state estimation processing unit 11may contain, previously stored therein, behavioral states of the targetanimal 2, states (postures) of the target animal 7 and a specificduration of time as the basis of the determination.

<9> In the embodiments above, one case is described wherein the musicproviding system 1 is operated to get the target animal 2 to hear thespecific music information dm that was automatically selected to bringthe behavioral state of the target animal 2 closer to the targetbehavioral state when primarily the caretaker is absent from the regionof presence 20 of the target animal 2. Instead, the music providingsystem 1 may be turned on when the caretaker is present inside theregion of presence 20 of the target animal 2.

In this case, the state information acquisition unit 3 need notnecessarily be configured to acquire the state information of the targetanimal 2 continuously. For example, the caretaker may bring the stateinformation acquisition unit 3 that is an acceleration sensor or thelike closer to the target animal 2 at any time to acquire the stateinformation of the target animal. In this case, a smartphone that has asensor function, or a handheld sensor, for example, may be used as thestate information acquisition unit 3.

<10> The server 10 of the music providing system 1 may performarithmetic processing based on state information d1 acquired from aplurality of types of state information acquisition units 3 to determinethe specific music information dm. For example, the state informationacquisition unit 3 that is an acceleration sensor attached to the targetanimal 2 as described with reference to FIG. 1, and the stateinformation acquisition unit 3 that is a camera capable of taking imagesof inside of the region of presence 20 of the target animal 2 asdescribed with reference to FIG. 9 may be used in combination.

A yet another example would be to install a state informationacquisition unit 3 that is a mat with a built-in sensor function withinthe region of presence 20 of the target animal 2, to allow the stateinformation d1 of the target animal 2 positioned on this mat to betransmitted to the server 10. In this case, the mat may include a sensorcapable of detecting the weight for each coordinate position on the mat,and additionally, a built-in sensor that detects the heartbeat of thetarget animal 2 present on the mat.

<11> As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the operation terminal 40 thecaretaker owns is communicable with the server 10 via the communicationline 30, the operation terminal 40 may be configured to allow thecaretaker to input information relating to attributes of the targetanimal 2 such as the type (e.g., dog type) or age of the target animal 2from the information input unit 41 of the operation terminal 40.

Moreover, the music information selecting unit 14 in the server 10 maycontain, previously stored therein, default music information for eachattribute of target animals 2. In this case, default music informationcorresponding to the attribute of the target animal 2 transmitted fromthe operation terminal 40 is selected by the music information selectingunit 14, and output from the speaker 5. After that, each process of thesteps S1 to S5 is repeatedly executed. Namely, this configuration canshorten the time required for getting the target animal 2 to assume thebehavioral state aimed to be achieved, because default music informationthat supposedly has an effect of calming down for example is alreadystored for each attribute of the target animal 2.

The music information selecting unit 14 may update the stored defaultmusic information at any suitable time. When it is determined on theserver 10 side that the degree of divergence of the current behavioralstate of the target animal 2 from the target behavioral state is equalto or less than the first threshold (Yes in step S3), it is likely thatthe specific music information din being selected at this time point isalso effective to another target animal 2 of the same attribute as thatof this target animal 2. Therefore, the server 10 may store the specificmusic information dm that is being selected at the time point when thedegree of divergence of the current behavioral state of the server 2from the target behavioral state has become equal to or less than thefirst threshold in association with the information relating to theattributes of target animals 2 in the music information selecting unit14. Furthermore, when the same specific music information dm has beenassociated with target animals 2 of the same attribute a predeterminednumber of times or more, the server 10 may update default musicinformation corresponding to the target animal 2 having this attributeto this specific music information dm. This way, the time required forgetting the target animal 2 to assume the behavioral state aimed to beachieved can be shortened even more.

Where the music providing system 1 does not include the server 10, asillustrated in FIG. 7, the system may be configured to allow theinformation processed in the speaker 5 to be transmitted to outside themusic providing system 1 automatically or by the operation of the userfor the purpose of allowing the system to learn music information thathas some effect on the target animal 2 (default music information).

<12> In the embodiments described above, one example is given where thetarget behavioral state is the degree of calmness of the target animal2. Instead, a state defined by the caretaker may be set as the “targetbehavioral state”. For example, a “happy state” of the target animal 2may be set as the target behavioral state. One example of this method isdescribed below.

The caretaker keeps the music providing system 1 on when the caretakeris present inside the region of presence 20 with the target animal 2.Since the caretaker knows the target animal 2 much better than the musicproviding system 1 (server 10), the caretaker can understand whether ornot the target animal 2 is enjoying itself. Therefore, at some pointwhen the caretaker judges that the target animal 2 is enjoying itself,the caretaker stores this state as a “registered state” in the server10. In one method whereby this can be achieved, for example, an operatorthat allows “registration of a state” may be displayed on the screen ofthe operation terminal 40, the associated information being transmittedto the server 10 when the caretaker operates this operator. The state ofthe target animal 2 at the current moment (here, “happy state”) isstored in the server 10 at this point.

More particularly, in the server 10, a segment of the state informationd1 of the target animal 2 over a predetermined period before and afterthe time point when information requesting “registration of a state” istransmitted from the operation terminal 40 is cut out and stored. Afterthat, in the server 10, tendencies appearing in the cut-out segment ofstate information d1 are extracted, and the extracted tendencies areassociated with the registered behavioral state. For example, when thebehavioral state the caretaker wishes to register this time is a “happystate”, the server 10 associates the information relating to thetendencies that appear in the cut-out segment of the state informationd1 with the “happy state” of the target animal 2 and registers the same.

After the behavioral state defined by the caretaker has been thusdefined on the side of the server 10, when the caretaker wishes toentertain the target animal 2 using the music providing system 1, thecaretaker sets the target behavioral state to “happy state”. Namely, thetarget state storage unit 12 stores the “happy state” as the behavioralstate of the target animal 2 aimed to be achieved.

After that, processes similar to the steps S1 to S5 described above areperformed, i.e., the music information selecting unit 14 carries out theprocess of selecting specific music information dm until the degree ofdivergence of the behavioral state of the target animal 2 at the currentmoment from the target behavioral state (happy state) becomes equal toor less than the first threshold.

The tendencies that appear in the state information d1 to be associatedwith the behavioral state defined by the caretaker in this way may beautomatically learned by the server 10 for each attribute of the targetanimal 2. Namely, when each caretaker registers a behavioral state ofthe target animal 2 to the server 10, the caretaker registers anattribute of the target animal 2, too. The server 10 extracts and storestendencies that appear in the state information d1 that indicates thesame behavioral state that is the “happy state” for target animals 2having the same attribute. This way, types of behavioral states thecaretaker wishes to get the target animal 2 to assume by means of themusic providing system 1 can be increased.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   -   1 Music providing system    -   2 Target animal    -   3 State information acquisition unit    -   5 Speaker    -   10 Server    -   11 State estimation processing unit    -   12 Target state storage unit    -   13 Sound source storage unit    -   14 Music information selecting unit    -   15 Music information output unit    -   16 Behavioral state output unit    -   19 Transmitting/receiving unit    -   20 Region of presence of target animal    -   30 Communication line    -   40 Operation terminal    -   41 Information input unit    -   42 Transmitting/receiving unit    -   51 Acoustic signal output unit    -   60 Communication device    -   61 Transmitting/receiving unit    -   dm Specific music information    -   wm Acoustic signal

1. A music providing system for a non-human animal, comprising: a state information acquisition unit that acquires state information relating to a motion state of a target animal that is a non-human animal; a state estimation processor that estimates, from the state information, a current behavioral state that is a behavioral state of the target animal at a current moment by arithmetic processing; a target state storage that stores information relating to a target behavioral state that is a behavioral state aimed to be achieved of the target animal; a sound source storage that stores a plurality of pieces of music information; a music information selector that detects a degree of divergence of the current behavioral state from the target behavioral state by arithmetic processing, and selects a piece of specific music information based on the plurality of pieces of music information stored in the sound source storage by arithmetic processing; and a music information output that outputs the specific music information to a speaker provided within a region where the target animal is present via wireless or wired communication, wherein the music information selector carries out a process of selecting a different piece of the specific music information until the degree of divergence becomes equal to or less than a predetermined first threshold.
 2. The music providing system for a non-human animal according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pieces of music information are stored in the sound source storage in association with coordinate information of coordinates in a feature space with feature parameter axes, and when a degree of divergence of the current behavioral state of the target animal from the target behavioral state is detected for a first time, the music information selector selects default music information corresponding to the coordinate information, with each of the preset feature parameters indicating a default value, in accordance with the target behavioral state as the specific music information.
 3. The music providing system for a non-human animal according to claim 2, wherein, after selecting the default music information, until the degree of divergence becomes equal to or less than the first threshold, the music information selector repeats a process of selecting the specific music information having a different value of at least one of the feature parameters from that of the specific music information that was selected immediately before.
 4. The music providing system for a non-human animal according to claim 1, wherein the feature parameters include at least one or more of a tempo, frequency band, tone color, melody, harmony, rhythm, and sound pressure of the music information.
 5. The music providing system for a non-human animal according to claim 1, wherein the state information includes information relating to acceleration in multiple directions of the target animal, and the state estimation processor carries out a predetermined process including a process of integrating values based on the acceleration of the target animal over a predetermined period of time to calculate an index, and estimates the current behavioral state based on a ratio of the index to a specific index corresponding to a predetermined behavioral state.
 6. The music providing system for a non-human animal according to claim 1, wherein, where there is a plurality of the target animals, the music information selector carries out a process of selecting a different piece of the specific music information until the degree of divergence regarding all of the target animals becomes equal to or less than the first threshold, or, until a total value of the degrees of divergence regarding discrete ones of the target animals becomes equal to or less than a predetermined second threshold.
 7. The music providing system for a non-human animal according to claim 1, further comprising: a server that includes the state estimation processor, the target state storage, the sound source storage, the music information selector, and the music information output; and the speaker provided within a region where the target animal is present, wherein when the server acquires the state information via wireless communication from the state information acquisition unit, which is configured to include a sensor provided in contact with the target animal, or configured to be capable of taking a picture of the target animal from a position away from the target animal, the server outputs the state information to the state estimation processor, and when the music information selector selects the specific music information, the server outputs the specific music information to the speaker via wireless communication.
 8. The music providing system for a non-human animal according to claim 7, wherein the server includes a setting information receiver, and when information relating to the target behavioral state is input via wireless communication from an operation terminal of a caretaker of the target animal, the setting information receiver outputs the input information relating to the target behavioral state to the target state storage.
 9. The music providing system for a non-human animal according to claim 8, wherein the server includes a behavioral state output that outputs information regarding the current behavioral state of the target animal to the operation terminal via wireless communication.
 10. The music providing system for a non-human animal according to claim 8, wherein the music information output outputs at least one of the specific music information itself selected by the music information selector and identification information for identifying the specific music information to the operation terminal via wireless communication. 